The Saudi Pro League has announced its Player of the Season, with Liverpool icon Sadio Mane losing out to Al-Nassr team-mate Joao Felix, who also beat Ivan Toney and Ruben Neves to the accolade
Matthew Abbott
12:59, 24 May 2026
Sadio Mane has missed out on the top Saudi prize
Sadio Mane has missed out on the top Saudi prize(Image: Getty Images)
The Saudi Pro League has named Joao Felix as its player of the season, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Sadio Mane.
Captains and managers of the league's 18 clubs made up the bulk of the vote, with supporters and media representatives also having their say. Ronaldo is among the captains whose choices accounted for 40 percent of the vote, weighted equally with their managers. Eighteen journalists also cast their votes, accounting for 15 percent, while supporters accounted for the remaining 5 percent.
Ivan Toney, Julian Quinones and Ruben Neves were also in contention. Liverpool legend Mane, who has just clinched the Saudi Pro League title with Al-Nassr, was not in the mix. Voting concluded on Monday, prior to the final round of games.
READ MORE: Alisson stance on Liverpool future amid new twist in Juventus transfer claimsREAD MORE: Florian Wirtz defends Mohamed Salah after Liverpool statement slammed by Jamie Carragher
Ronaldo netted twice on the final day to reach 28 goals as Al-Nassr secured the league title with a 4-1 victory over Damac. Felix provided the assist for Mane's opener, marking his 13th assist of the campaign, more than any other player.
In his maiden season after his move from Chelsea, where he struggled, the forward also scored 20 times. Only four others managed more, with Ronaldo among them as the third-highest goalscorer.
The Golden Boot was awarded to Julian Quinones for his 33 goals following a final-day hat-trick. Ivan Toney finished one goal behind after failing to score in Al-Ahli's final fixture.
Joao Felix has picked up the award
Joao Felix has picked up the award(Image: Getty Images)
Felix surpassed Ronaldo in combined goals and assists, with 33. That eclipses his team-mate's 30 after the 41-year-old managed just two assists. Toney, however, tops the league in that regard with seven assists, providing the last on the final day.
That brought him to 39, two clear of Quinones on 37.
Beyond the statistics, Felix was the sole player to claim multiple player of the month awards, achieving this in September and then again in May. Ronaldo failed to win one, with Kostas Fortounis (October), Georginio Wijnaldum (November), Toney (January), Yannick Carrasco (February) and Valentin Vada (April) the other recipients.
Ronaldo's most recent player of the month accolade came in May 2024, which was his fifth of that inaugural full campaign in the league. The league did not present that season-long award after that term, though, and Karim Benzema claimed it last season, meaning Ronaldo is yet to secure it.
This campaign, Felix also collected nine player of the match awards from his 33 outings. He praised manager Jorge Jesus following the side's title success. He said of the former Al-Hilal boss: "Playing football makes me happy; playing my position.
Article continues below
"The coach gave me so much confidence. He put me to play to command the team, to help the team, be one of the focuses of the team, and I think when that happens, the things goes well."
Jesus also won the coach of the season award and singled out Ronaldo after the team's triumph. He said: "This is a victory for everyone, and especially for Cristiano, because he had not yet won any title in Saudi Arabia."
The coach also confirmed he is leaving the club, saying: "I only accepted this challenge because I told him that I would help him to be champion, 'Let's win the title and then I'll leave,' which is the case. For me, it's over, it's the last game I'll play with Al-Nassr."